You gotta go to the State Fair of Texas this year. After 11 hours on opening day (10 a.m. to 9 p.m.), I can say it’s one of the best ever. And I didn’t even get to all of the attractions! If course, the big draw is the fried food and it won’t disappoint — fried jambalaya (good), fried picnic on a stick (good), fried mac & cheese slider (good), fried green tomatoes (one of my faves), fried autumn pumpkin pie (yummy) and fried Samoas (fabulous). Next time I go I will try the other finalists for this year.
Of course, I had to go see the Girl Scout 100th Anniversary Exhibition although I was at the Gala Preview the weekend before and celebrated its coming opening. It’s an inspirational exhibit which shows the beginning of the movement to today’s Girl Scout movement which is all about focus on continuing to advance the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. Getting to see many of the uniforms over the years was great fun — Halston and Bill Blass designed uniforms in the 70’s and 80’s. You have to make up your own mind about their stylishness! Also on display are the very first cookie molds. Did you know that the first Girl Scout cookies were made by the girls themselves. Can you imagine if they still did that today! I was very proud of our Council — Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, who have worked so hard to make this exhibit special. I already mentioned the fried Samoas, but I have to say that this was the best dessert I have ever had at the Fair, and I’ve had most of them.
The Embarcadero Building which houses the food vendor who fries the Samoas also houses some of the most interesting exhibits — a glass enclosed freezer area where the butter sculptor has carved a life size Girl Scout mother and children. It also houses those fabulous quilts that appear every year, photo contest, decorated shoe contest, art contest and all sorts of demonstrations.
One of my favorite shows is the Birds of the World show in the outdoor amphitheater. The birds are so beautiful and the whole show makes one think about protecting these special creatures.
The most unusual and spectacular new exhibit is the Chinese Lanterns show which takes up the entire lagoon area as well as the areas in front of all of the museums. It is special during the day, but at night it is amazing because it is all lit up and it is huge. It costs extra to get in but worth every penny. Even the rain did not deter us from this experience.
So now we’ll be able to come again during the next three weeks and experience the attractions we didn’t get to see on Friday — can’t wait to eat more fried food and more Samoas!
By: Valerie Freeman, CEO
Valerie Freeman is the founder and CEO of Texas based Freeman+Leonard, BravoTECH, andImprimis Group, leading suppliers of staffing, recruiting, human resources and outsourcing services. She has built one of the largest independently owned staffing companies in Texas. Valerie was honored by the Dallas Business Journal as one of the 25 most influential women in business and named Women’s Business Enterprise of the Year by the Women’s Business Council of the Southwest. Valerie was also a recipient of the Athena Award by the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce, the “Real Girls, Real Women” Award from the Girl Scouts of NE Texas, “National Business Owner of the Year” by the National Association of Women Business Owners, and Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year”. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Houston where she was honored as a Distinguished Alum.